Quest for Immortality

Lately I have been hearing a lot of chatter about immortality and increasing our lifespan. The above image is an 18th Century Painting and calligraphy from a large format Chinese album illustrating stories of Taoist immortals -people who sought or "achieved" immortality. It is titled "A Keepsake from the Cloud Gallery/Yuntai Xianrui". The text concerns a Taoist adept, Wang Qiao. In Taoist practice, a set of procedures and principles meant to prolong human life. Taoists used such methods as "Outer Alchemy", consisted of the chemical production of elixirs that were meant to be swallowed, and "Inner Alchemy", which relied on symbolic meditation to achieve the same end, to acquire immortality.

But it is not only the Chinese or religious people that search for immortality. It seems to be that scientists are looking deeply into ways of minimalising or exterminating the process of decay in human cells, thus enabling us to age slower and ultimately stop aging. It is understood by biomedical gerontologists that this is a possible or highly likely reality that will become perfected over generations to come. They think of it as their duty to look deeper into this project so that our future generations can benefit from it.

So the question is "why immortality?" Is it really going to be beneficial for our future generations to be able to live longer, say 1000 years or more? Or is it just going to increase more issues, such as mass population or environmental consumption and damage? Check out this TED presentation by bio-gerontologist Aubrey de Grey (not to be mistaken with "Gandalf the Grey"... ) on anti-aging.

Keith Ward Speaks Up For Christianity

I read an article in the New Zealand Listener Magazine about a week ago called In The Name Of God. It is an article where a British philosopher-theologian named Keith Ward (picture right) argues that Christianity is misunderstood to be dangerous when it is more likely that it is "hijacked by the fanatical and the intolerant". It is refreshing to see that Richard Dawkins, who calls Christianity "a creationism-believing sect of fundamentalist hypocrites and hillbillies" actually gets a bit of a thrashing and is left looking like the one who is "intolerant and small-minded" for a change.

Ward commissioned a rebuttal through a small book called "Is Religion Dangerous?" He states in this book that while religion can be dangerous, it is "also one of the most powerful forces in the world for good." Philip Matthews, from Listener, writes that, "The theme of Ward's book is that Christianity is a perfect system frequently corrupted by human imperfection. At the same time, though, the major religions also contain the capacity to expose such corruption and call people to account. If you do a basic body-count of the 20th century, Ward suggests, then atheistic belief systems – communism, fascism – are infinitely more dangerous.”

In the book Is Religion Dangerous? Ward recounts the parts of Dawkins’ religion-bashing TV series, The Root Of All Evil where Dawkins interviews fundamentalist church leaders who teach six-day creation, which is considered a big crime in the scientific arena. Ward, questioning Dawkins' motives, thinks that, "even if Dawkins is right about evolution, wouldn’t a liberal attitude permit the existence of these churches? Shouldn’t he even encourage them, on the grounds that their opposition to scientific dogma might turn up some overlooked truth?" But “Dawkins chose to ridicule them instead,” says Ward.

While Dawkins is eager to attack Christianity, or religion as a whole, for decaying human thinking, Ward encourages people to take a close look at religion for what it really is. “Atheists,” Ward says, “are much rarer in the ground among philosophers than they used to be” not to say that philosophy departments are riddled with Christians, but that “most of them are sympathetic.” He finds it “ironic and strange” that Dawkins would want to launch his strongest attacks on religion at this day in age. In Wards opinion, Dawkins’ philosophy is old-fashioned, that it is comparable to that of the Victorian era, “particularly around the idea that faith and science are incompatible.”

Dawkins and his contemporaries, who are listed here as sharing similar views: Daniel Dennett (Breaking the Spell), Lewis Wolpert (Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast), and Christopher Hitchens (God Is Not Great – out in June); are particularly bothered by the fact that religion refuses to shuffle off the stage and quietly die (you can view Dan Dennett’s response to Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life at the TED website here, and Rick Warren’s TED presentation here). Although that seems like a harsh speculation, Jesus has been bothering people ever since he was born. It is not comfortable to have to serve, it’s not comfortable to have to love others, and it is not comfortable to become the least in society. The argument has definitely gone far deeper than the simple concern for one’s comfort however, that is, I believe, where it began (Matthew 2:3, Matthew 19:16-22).

It excites me when I see articles like this discussing religion because it means that people are thinking about God, and it is only a matter of time that they will begin contemplating their purpose, and the meaning of life. No wonder Rick Warren’s book The Purpose Driven Life sold over 30 million copies. It is only through our choices that we gain salvation, therefore, give them the Gospel to seriously ponder on I say. Meanwhile we Christians must always do our utmost to practice what we preach.

Frank Ritchie also has a post up on his blog about the Listener article if you'd like to check it out.

The Wisdom in Contemplating Death

According to Martin Luther, to contemplate death is to prepare oneself for the time of death, but it must be done at the right time - "invite death into our presence when it is still at a distance and not on the move.” He stresses that we must not banish the thought of death out of our minds when we are far away from it, this is the time that we must prepare our selves for it, as we will not be able to contain the thought of death at the last hour of our lives. He says, at the time of death, “[the devil] fills our foolish human nature with the dread of death while cultivating a love and concern for life, so that burdened with such thoughts man forgets God, flees and abhors death, and thus, in the end, is and remains disobedient to God.”

I think a lot of people (especially those who are ignorant to the Gospel) would be afraid of death and would rather not think about it. I think it is important to be content with it as death is a certainty for every living being. I think the most common reason why death is a terrifying thought is because we hate the thought of losing all the things that we love in life. That would be my first fear. It isn’t the fear of judgment for my sins, the fear of a painful death (maybe a little… ha ha), or the fear of not having an afterlife. The kind of fears you have are determined by what stage you are in life. In my life I am more in danger of being consumed by materialistic gain and a comfortable lifestyle. I’m not quite comfortable with the idea of all my achievements in life going to waste. It is easier to be at peace with death when you have nothing to lose. But even if one was completely careless of losing his possessions, he may possess a fear of there not being an afterlife or possibly going to hell, for example. As people become more and more experienced in life (or get older in other words) they become more solidified in their beliefs. Therefore, if one has a reasonably open approach to death most of his life he may be more at ease at the time of death, compared to one that has shunned the thought most of his life.

We all know that this life is only temporary. However, not everybody is certain that there is such a thing as “life after death”. I think a lot of people would like to believe there is an afterlife, but my question is “is it important to know this now?” I personally believe there is a life after death through what I have read in the Bible (e.g. Genesis 1:1; Matthew 13:42-43, 25:30, 34; Luke 23:43), but many interpret these things in different ways. If you find these things important you may want to take a look at this Q&A page. It may help you in your searching for the truth in this matter. But if it were so important for us to know about what exactly happens once we die then maybe Jesus would have spelled it out to us word for word. Jesus told us all that we needed to know (John 15:15). The important thing to know is that through Christ’s blood that was shed for us we are free of judgement, saved from the wrath of God. We will be saved from “hell” (which is basically a place that NO ONE wants to be – a place of complete separation from the loving Father) if we surrender our lives to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

This raises another question. As much as it is true that we are saved by the blood of Christ, are we incapable of losing our seal of salvation after gaining it once? I personally find it a little un-easy to accept this kind of theology, as it would mean that once we were saved we can do whatever we pleased… and this does not sit right with me. I would like to think salvation is something that is as fragile as a relationship. Although God is all-merciful and our sins cannot hold us back from Him, we are absolutely capable of walking away from God, through our free will. God will not force His salvation upon us. Therefore, if we do not want to live with God we do not have to. But only a fool would seriously want to walk away from God by his own free will… I would go as far as to consider this a curse, and only by this curse can one surely go to hell.

However, it is not by fear that we must live but by the Joy that we are Children of God (Romans 8:16). We have no need to fear death as Christ has promised us salvation from eternal damnation (John10:9). We will never be parted from God if not by our own free will. So we must pray and build our relationships with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Pray that we may learn to love Him more everyday, and He will allow us to overcome death, just as He did.

“With the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth one confesses unto salvation.” Romans 10:10

Something to Ponder on During Easter

A Manifold Resurrection
Why the risen Jesus met people in five different ways--and still does.
John Witte Jr. | posted 4/05/2007 08:19AM

From January to April, we live between the times—between Christmas and Easter, Bethlehem and Golgotha, Incarnation and Resurrection. What strikes me about the Gospel accounts of Christmas and Easter are the varied ways in which God works. In the Incarnation, God masterminds the announcement of the good news of the birth of Christ. He sends prophets well in advance to foretell the coming of the Messiah. He commissions an angel to announce the birth to a virgin. He sets a new star in the heavens to summon wise men from the East. He sends a company of singing angels to pronounce Christ's birth to the shepherds in the fields. He quickens Anna the prophetess to declare the arrival of the Messiah on his day of circumcision. Though Christ was born in a lowly manger, there was nothing quiet about his birth.
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Quite the contrary with the Resurrection. Yes, an angel comes to roll away the stone from Jesus' tomb, but this grand miracle takes place with little pomp and circumstance. No angels sing hymns in the heavens, no stars appear in the East, no wise men set out on pilgrimage, no prophetess pronounces the good news. For 40 days after the Resurrection, Christ flits in and out of space and time, appearing only occasionally to a few followers. Then he ascends quietly into heaven.

What is even more striking is how his followers consistently fail to recognize him, and, more importantly, the variety of ways in which God makes it possible for them to apprehend him.

Mary Magdalene, weeping outside the empty tomb, has to be called by name before she recognizes Christ. Before that, she thought he was a gardener.

Ten disciples, gathered in a room in sorrow and fear, need Christ to breathe his peace on them before they recognize him. Before that, they thought he was a ghost.

Two travelers from Emmaus walked with Christ and talked with him about salvation history all the way to their city, but recognized him only when he held up some bread and blessed it. Before that, they thought he was simply a learned traveler.
Thomas, the great doubter, wanted to put his fingers in the nail holes of the Cross and his hand in the pierced side of Christ before accepting him. Prior to that, he thought Christ was a fraud.

And Peter, that enigmatic rock of the church, recognized Christ only after he performed the miracle of filling Peter's nets with fish. Then Peter had to sit through a threefold cross-examination as to whether he really believed in the resurrected Lord whom he had just denied: "Simon Barjona, do you love me?" "Do you love me?" "Do you love me?"

In these Gospel accounts, we see five ways in which Christ is experienced and understood after the Resurrection: A calling by name. A delivery of peace. A sacramental vision. A physical encounter. A miracle and conversation with God. I see both a budding psychology and a budding ecclesiology at work in these passages.


How Christ Meets Us Personally

The Gospels record these stories and encounters of the newly resurrected Christ, in part, for our spiritual comfort.
There is a little bit of Mary Magdalene in all of us: times when we swoon with pain and grief and need God's call to comfort us. There is a little bit of the Emmaus travelers in all of us: times when we talk idly about divine matters but see God only in the sublime simplicity of the sacrament. There is a little bit of the huddled disciples in all of us: times when our faith puts us in jeopardy and fear, and we need God's peace to be breathed on us. There is a little bit of Thomas in all of us: times that we are so overcome by doubt and skepticism that we need God's touch to assure and anchor us. And there is a little bit of Peter in all of us: times when we deny and betray our Lord and need a miracle to remind us of God's majesty or a divine conversation to move us to confess our faith unflinchingly.

The Gospel narratives of the resurrected Christ meet us at different stages in life and assure us that God comes to us in various ways, accommodating our pain, fear, doubt, abstraction, and pride as needed.


How Christ Meets Us in Church

The Gospels also record these stories for our corporate edification, to help us appreciate the diversity of ways in which we meet Christ in the church.

Christ can be experienced in multiple forms and multiple forums, and we may respond to him individually and collectively in multiple ways. Some are called by name. Some are touched by God. Some receive the breath of the Holy Spirit. Some experience miracles and hierophanies. Some see God in the sacraments.
Each type of divine encounter and experience creates its own liturgy, community, and tradition of confession, creed, and catechism.

Some traditions emphasize a personal calling, a moment of rebirth before membership is sealed. Some focus on an event, an icon, or a site or rite of divine vision. Some emphasize the pulpit, the homiletic exposition of God's Word. Some emphasize the altar, the Eucharistic celebration of the death and resurrection of Christ. All are legitimate ways to serve and celebrate Christ, and all are legitimate foundations for understanding what the church is.
The Gospel stories of Christmas and Easter remind us of our fundamental unity in Christ. They also remind us of the plurality of ways God makes himself known and the variety of ways Christ is experienced by his people.

Link to original article.